Macrophile.com

[DrKarl]

Just another part from my story that you guys might like. No macros here, but I like this scene. FYI, Private Brown is a black and brown cat in the army, no real relation to the main character. I suggest for ease of reading that you copy-paste this into Word and first line indent it. Enjoy!


Quantum Cores, Furry HQ Australia. January 8th 2009, 2:54 PM

William could barely contain his excitement as he climbed into an exposure suit. It felt like being wrapped in an extremely thick blanket, but one that was light as air. It felt loose and floppy, but once he was fully inside it began to constrict, tightening against him as the nanoparticles in the fabric changed shape.
‘Ooooh, that tickles,’ he giggled. ‘Man, this thing feels awesome.’
There was no one to hear him; Brown had said he had other business to attend to, and had left after instructing him on how to use the suit. He hugged himself happily, enjoying the weird suspension he felt from his senses, combined with the snug warmth.
This is probably as close as I’ll get to having fur, he thought, then hesitated as a small wave of sadness dampened his mood.
He turned towards the entrance to the cores. It slid into the ceiling as he walked towards it, and he entered a small airlock. No sooner had the outer door shut then the inner one opened, and he was hit by a blast of freezing cold air. He stumbled back a step before steadying himself. The suit deadened the worst of it, but it was still abominably cold. The air hurt his lungs and left a vaguely unpleasant aftertaste in his mouth.
He walked into the room, which looked like the inside of a library. Tall black columns rose to the ceiling, tiny heat sinks on every surface drinking in the cold, shedding the dangerous levels of heat that the quantum cores were generating. They were spaced at regular intervals, humming gently and winking friendlily at William with their multitude of coloured indicator lights. Thin waterfalls of slowly falling ice-cold hydrofluorocarbons fell from the ceiling above the hardware racks, pooling on the floor before fading into nothing. Combined with the lights, it made for a surreal environment.
It was all very pretty, and William was enjoying every second, but he still hadn’t seen what he was looking for.
‘Hello?’ he called out.
‘Yes?’ came a beautiful female voice from behind him. He spun around, and gasped aloud, unable to hide his shock.
In his former life, William Williams had enjoyed several SCUBA diving trips that his school had organised. One of these had been during the winter, which made the temperature of the Victorian coastal waters roughly twelve degrees Celsius. This temperature was cold enough at the surface, but felt three times as bad underwater. His hands hadn’t been able to stop shaking, and he and his dive buddies felt like they were going to freeze to death. All this had been forgotten however when the diving instructor had found a creature near the pier they were under.
A weedy sea dragon, a relative to the seahorse, had gently floated into view, seemingly flaunting its colourful sides to the astonished school children. It had hovered in front of them all, its fins barely working to keep it steady in the ocean current. For a few precious seconds, William had forgotten he had ever been cold in his life. All his senses had faded into insignificance, not even partially important compared to the sight in front of him.
Two years later, standing inside the hyper-advanced computer facility, he felt the exact same feeling again as he stared at the vision in front of him.
It was giving off a gentle luminance that rolled over the racks of hardware, penetrating every corner. It was roughly his own size, standing not four metres away. Its eyes twinkled invitingly as it held his stunned gaze.
It was the representation of the base’s Artificial Intelligence, and it was a kitsune.
Female, with immaculate white fur that rivalled snow in its purity, she stood with her paws clasped in front of her, smiling softly. Her most striking feature was her tail, or tails to be accurate. There were several of them, dancing in a slow pattern behind her back. Some of them were curled near her footpaws, others fanned out behind her lower body, making her appear much larger then she really was. None of the tails were so much as brushing the ground, and they didn’t seem to weigh her down in the slightest.
He eventually became aware that she wasn’t wearing any clothes, but he barely even noticed. Between her legs there was only more fur, and her small breasts didn’t have any nipples. William hardly even registered these facts, so entranced was he by her stunning beauty.
He swallowed as she walked towards him slowly. Her delicate footpaws made no noise as she walked, barely making contact with the floor. He looked into her eyes, which were a deep purple, the only other colour on her body. He had already completely forgotten that she was a hologram, so convincing was her appearance. She stopped a few steps away, her paws at her sides, still smiling that gentle smile. William realised that he was gaping like a fish, and he shut his mouth hurriedly.
‘Greetings,’ she said in a voice so melodious that it sent a tingle down his spine. ‘Welcome to my home. I am the Artificial Intelligence system for this base. How do you do?’
‘I’m… I’m… I…’ he stammered as he continued to stare.
‘Relax Mr. Williams. I’m merely a hologram.’
‘You’re beautiful,’ he whispered. ‘Absolutely beautiful.’
Her smile widened slightly. ‘Thank you. A lot of people say that when they first see me. This was the last form I was programmed with, a form shared by the other AIs around the world. Do you know what it is?’
‘Yes,’ he said, looking over her shoulders at her long, thick tails, which were still dancing slowly. ‘You’re a kitsune. A mythical Japanese fox that was said to have multiple tails, be extremely wise and posses magical powers.’
She nodded. ‘That’s right. You’re the first person to guess correctly. It is, after all, a human invention.’
‘It was said that the number of tails varies depending on how powerful or wise the individual was,’ he continued. ‘Kitsunes with nine tails were the most powerful. How many do you have?’ he said, unable to count them when they were swaying like they were.
The white vulpine turned on the spot, presenting him with a view of her back. The tails all sprouted from the base of her spine in a close circle, and he quickly counted nine. Quite apt for the most powerful computer in the world.
She turned again, her startlingly purple eyes roaming over him playfully.
‘I see you encountered some difficulty in the water treatment facility. I considered disabling the paddle engines, but it didn’t prove necessary.’
‘You were watching that?’ he asked in surprise. ‘Aren’t you busy running the base?’
She laughed softly, almost contemptuously. ‘No. I’m never too busy. My quantum cores are barely working at the moment. Even at times of peak demand I still have plenty of room for other applications. As I’m talking to you now I’m simultaneously monitoring biocom data from every single person with a biochip, overseeing the entire base through several thousand surveillance strips, conversing with numerous other personnel, running advanced simulation software at the virtual reality suite and providing processing power for all networked devices throughout the base.’
‘That’s incredible. So you’ve been watching me all the time?’
She smiled and began to speak, but it was not her voice that came out, it was his own. He listened in confusion before realising it was the conversation he had had with Nick that morning, perfectly reproduced.
‘Wow. You’re sure you’re not busy? It must require a lot of power to be holding this conversation with me.’
She shook her head. ‘No. In this case the only waste of processing power is the extremely inefficient means by which we are communicating. In the time it takes for me to communicate even a single sentence verbally I could simultaneously solve a trillion equations. If we were able to link our minds together then I would show you the true meaning of a conversation. I could tell you everything I know in the space of a few seconds, though I’m not sure if your mind would be able to cope.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, unsettled by this stunning vixen. ‘Your hologram looks perfect,’ he stammered. ‘Can I touch it?’
She shook her head again. ‘I’m afraid I can’t let you do that William,’ she purred.
He almost laughed, but wasn’t satisfied. ‘How come?’
‘I am not an ordinary hologram. Laser arrays throughout this room are all focusing onto various points in the air, turning it into very small amounts of plasma. When all these points link together they create my form. Several other lasers project lines and colour onto the plasma, giving the illusion of fur and adding colour to my eyes. If you were to touch me I fear the plasma would cause you significant pain.’
‘Oh. Doesn’t it require a lot of processing power to render something this complicated?’
‘My processing power is limitless,’ she said coolly. ‘Nothing is too much for me.’
He thought he detected a note of smugness in her voice. He shivered violently. The magic of meeting the kitsune was beginning to wear off, and he was feeling the cold more and more. He refused to leave yet however, he was far too curious.
The AI had other ideas. ‘Your core temperature is about to drop below the recommended level. I suggest you leave soon.’
‘I can’t go yet, I have so many questions!’
‘What are they?’
He hesitated, unable to think clearly. ‘I don’t know,’ he said pathetically.
‘When you think of some you may return, or call me over an earpiece or computer.’
‘But I want to talk to you in person,’ he said earnestly. ‘I don’t want to leave yet.’
She sighed, though not unkindly. ‘It seems that that this always happens on the first meetings. Perhaps the sentients that programmed my form did too good a job.’
‘They certainly did. You look fantastic. It’s a shame you’re not real. Oh! Are there any other kitsune Furries? Real ones?’
‘No. They’re a mythical human creation.’
‘Aww,’ he said, genuinely disappointed. ‘Oh, how many different types of Furries are there?’
‘If you mean species, then there are several categories. Felines, canines and vulpines are by far the most common. Then there are lapines, ursines, sciurines…’
‘Wait, what are they?’ he asked.
‘Rabbits, bears and squirrels respectively.’
‘Are there any dragons?’
She instantly searched through her database of human history. ‘Dragons are large, mythical, flying beasts from human folklore. There have never been any dragon Furries, or real dragons for that matter.’
‘Yeah. A lot of the people on the net believe that dragons are Furries too. I have no idea why; I’ve never cared for dragons myself. Any bats?’
‘No.’
‘I didn’t think so. Avians? You know, birds?’
‘No.’
‘What about horses?’
‘There used to be an equine race, but they perished during an interspecies war. They were the last of the digitigrade species.’
‘So no deer or anything like that?’
‘They were also lost.’
‘So felines, canines and vulpines are the most common?’
‘Yes.’ She noted that this seemed to cheer the boy up. ‘You look pleased.’
‘Yeah, they’re my three favourite types of Furries.’
‘While I am enjoying this conversation, I must insist that you leave. You will begin to suffer permanent skin damage within minutes if you don’t go.’
‘I feel fine,’ he protested, not wanting to leave the beautiful kitsune.
‘Based on your biochip readings you may be on the verge of entering hypothermia.’
‘That doesn’t seem right. Ahh!’ he cried in frustration. ‘I can’t think of anything to ask you!’
‘You can always visit me through Virtual Reality. You won’t be in any danger there, and physical contact will be possible.’
William perked up immediately. ‘Really? I could touch you?’
‘Yes. No sexual interaction will be possible I’m afraid. The programmers of this form didn’t feel the need to integrate such a feature. Will that be a problem?’
She watched his reaction from a surveillance strip that was mounted horizontally on a hardware rack, cross-referencing it with the behaviour she had already analysed extensively. Her hypothesis was that the human would not show disappointment at her words, and this turned out to be correct. The boy almost looked insulted, as if the very idea was repulsive to him.
‘What? No way, I wouldn’t want to do anything like that! Not a chance! Haven’t you seen me talking to the psychiatrist, and the Macros the other day?’
‘Yes I did. I found your statements most interesting. You disproved my initial hypothesis, that part of the reason you came to this base was the hope of forming a sexual relationship.’
‘You thought that too?’ he said in disbelief. ‘Even the computer thinks I’m here for the yiff!’
‘Not anymore I don’t. Unless you are an adept liar. I’m not quite as good at recognising human emotions, you could very well be deceiving me and the other Furries at this base.’
William folded his arms, partly in contempt but also to try and keep himself warm. ‘Come on. Seriously? You have to believe me. The most I would want to do with you is stroke your fur, that’s it. Or maybe…’ he trailed off, embarrassed.
‘What?’ she asked, curious.
‘Hug your tails,’ he said quietly.
‘That would be entirely within the limits of my representation. I’ll look forward to meeting you in Virtual Reality. For now though, I’m afraid that I’ll have to ask Private Brown to escort you out if you do not get to safety.’
‘Oh, all right then,’ he said with disappointment. The kitsune stepped to the side to let him pass, and her edged around her uncomfortably, careful not to touch her. Her purple eyes followed him as he passed, and she smiled warmly as he waved goodbye before he stepped through the airlock. As soon as the door had closed she snapped out of existence, the floating points of plasma fading with a sharp crackle.

The outer door had barely opened when William was hit by what felt like the heat from a blast furnace. The air was unbearably hot, and he wobbled unsteadily.
Brown, who had been waiting just outside the door, caught the human as he stumbled forward, and lowered his shaking body to the floor.
‘Argh! It’s so hot!’ gasped the boy.
‘No it isn’t,’ reassured Brown, having both seen and experienced this reaction before. Stepping from the subzero environment into the warm air outside the cores was quite a shock to the body. First time visitors also invariably wanted to stay longer then was safe, which had resulted in more then a few minor injuries.
Brown sat next to the human as he sat on the ground, his temperature slowly rising. After a few minutes he was back to normal, and the feline helped him climb out of the suit.
‘You should have come out sooner,’ he scolded, though he didn’t sound too upset.
‘I’m sorry sir, it’s just… wow.’
‘What did you think?’
‘She’s perfect,’ he said dreamily. ‘Her fur, her eyes, her tails, wow.’
‘And the fact that she’s naked didn’t grab your attention?’ snorted Brown.
William barely even heard him, still entranced. ‘What? No, I’m not hungry. Nine tails, wow,’ he said again.
Brown tapped him lightly on the cheeks with the back of his paw. ‘Hello? Earth to William, come in William.’
The human was still staring into space despite the feline’s touch. ‘Right, yes. Fur. I mean tails. Fuck!’ he finally managed to snap himself together as he rose clumsily to his feet. ‘I mean let’s go sir! We can’t sit on the floor all day!’ he said quickly.
‘No, we can’t,’ said Brown, trying to hide his smile with one paw. The human noticed his behaviour.
‘Oh come on sir, give me a break.’
The soldier held his paws up in mock surrender. ‘It’s all right, it happens to everyone. The AI is amazing. You’d never think it wasn’t a real person. Come on, let’s get you home.’
‘Home?’ repeated William, freezing on the spot. Brown stopped walking instantly.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Home,’ he said again, looking up the corridor. ‘This place is my home.’
‘Yeah, I guess it is,’ said Brown uncertainly, not realising how much it meant to the teenager. William locked eyes with him, gradually breaking into a smile.
‘Okay Mr. Brown, let’s go home.’

[gadabout]

Yes, ive read this on BF. Good stuff, good stuff...

I can see why you are proud of it